Wisconsin Soccer Central

College soccer matches in the spring might be only exhibitions, but the season that surrounds them are very important.

Whether it is getting a look at players who didn't see a lot of time in the previous fall, trying out new positions or helping players work on individual skills, teams and coaches start to gear up for the fall season each spring.

Here's a quick look at how the spring is shaping up for the state's four NCAA Division I men's teams:

Marquette

Coach: Louis Bennett, seventh season at Marquette (42-68-19) and 17th overall (178-131-36).

2012 recap: 16-4-1 overall, 5-2-1 Big East Conference Blue Division (tied for third). Lost to Georgetown 2-1 (2OT) in Big East tournament semifinal. Northwestern 1-0 in NCAA tournament second round.

Spring schedule: March 23 – UW-Parkside 1, Marquette 1; Marquette 2, Loyola (Ill.) 0. April 6 – at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 10 a.m.; at Saint Louis, 6 p.m. April 13 – Wisconsin Division I Spring Cup at Valley Fields, vs. UW-Green Bay, 9:30 a.m.; championship or third place, 1:30 p.m. April 20 – at Creighton, 7 p.m. April 28 – DePaul, 10 a.m.; at UW-Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

In focus: "We try to add some layers to what we do," Bennett said of his approach to the spring, and the coach has been happy with what he's seen from his 23 returnees and a trio of newcomers: junior midfielder Brady Wahl (transfer from Ohio State), junior forward David Selvaggi (transfer from DePaul) and his son, freshman midfielder Louis Bennett II (Shorewood). Coming off last fall's tremendous campaign, Bennett also is looking to develop depth in his squad. "We have to become deeper, so that if we need to use 18 guys we can," he said. "(Last year), we dodged quite a few of those injury bullets. ... We don't want to rely on luck, we want to try to prepare for a lot of different-case scenarios." In addition to the three newcomers, Marquette also is welcoming back forward C. Nortey, who was the Golden Eagles' leading scorer as a freshman in 2011 but redshirted last season after having surgeries on both knees. "He's looking good, he's in practice," Bennett said of Nortey, whom he expects to be fully back in action May 1. "It's been very good and everything's been positive, because we've taken our time. We could have forced him back earlier or he could have forced himself back, and we said no. We've got a methodical return to fitness and credit to him and credit again to the medical staff, because it really has helped him. We call it 'Knees for Life,' – he's got two good ones. In the big picture, he's a very talented soccer player."

UW-Green Bay

Coach: Dan Popik, first season (2-10-4).

2012 recap: 2-10-4, 0-4-3 Horizon League (eighth).

Spring schedule: March 15 – Wisconsin 2, UW-Green Bay 0. April 13 – Wisconsin Division I Spring Cup at Valley Fields, Milwaukee, at Marquette, 9:30 a.m.; championship or third place, 1:30 p.m. April 20 – Oshkosh Spring Tournament, at UW-Oshkosh, vs. Croatian Eagles Majors (WSL), time TBA. April 28 – vs. Cardinal Stritch, 3 p.m.

In focus: With just 11 field players and one goalkeeper on the spring roster, Popik is more concerned about individual development as he continues to mold the program into his vision. "My goal is for every player to have improved on their weaknesses while also improving on their strengths. I want them to leave this semester a better player than they were when I first met them in August," he said. "In addition to working on improving each player's game, I'm continuing to build the foundation and culture of how this program will operate." Goalkeeper Jean Carlo Perez, a transfer from Monroe (N.Y.) who was an NJCAA Division I All-American in 2011, already is on campus and will get a head start on incoming freshman Kyle Ihn (Kettle Moraine) in the race to replace four-year starter Ryan Wehking. "Perez is very good distributing with his feet, good athleticism, good reactions and stop-stopper. The games this spring will be a great opportunity for him to get experience at the Division I level," said Popik, a former goalkeeper who played three years in Major League Soccer after three seasons with the Milwaukee Rampage in the A-League. "I believe we will have two talented goalkeepers on the roster next season and I'm excited to watch them battle it out for the starting spot." The Phoenix haven't announced their full 2013 recruiting class, but it is expected to include at least 13 players in addition to Perez and midfielder Tauren Greenidge, a transfer from High Point (N.C.).

UW-Milwaukee

Coach: Kris Kelderman, first season at UW-Milwaukee (8-8-2) and second overall (19-15-3).

2012 recap: 8-8-2, 2-3-2 Horizon League (tied for fifth). Lost to Valparaiso 1-0 in Horizon tournament quarterfinal.

Spring schedule: March 9 – DePaul, ccd.; April 6 – UW-Parkside, 5 p.m.; April 13 – Wisconsin Division I Spring Cup at Valley Fields, Milwaukee, vs. Wisconsin, 9:30 a.m.; championship or third place, 1:30 p.m.; April 21 – Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 11 a.m.; April 28 – Marquette, 7 p.m.

In focus: Much like Popik, who succeeded him in Green Bay, Kelderman is still making changes at UW-Milwaukee. "It's still Year 1 for us," the former Neenah High School standout and MLS defender said. "We made some adjustments to our roster after the fall season and this spring, so our roster size is smaller. Looking forward to the additions that are coming in, but it's still a work in progress." Six players left the program by mutual agreement, including freshman keeper Connor Revsbeck, who played well in five appearances as senior John Shakon's backup last fall. "He does really well academically," Kelderman said of Revsbeck. "He's going to look to maybe an institution that's maybe on the higher end of the scale academically. I don't know if his intentions are even to play. That was a little surprise to us." Freshman Jonathan Stahr (Milwaukee Thomas More) is the only keeper on the roster for the spring – though there are two keepers in the Panthers' recruiting class and another, former UW-Parkside athlete Ryan Onwukwe, transferred from Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and will be eligible to play in 2014. With a freshman class that "we feel will make a pretty quick impact on the program" and the addition of three players who sat out last fall after transferring from UW-Green Bay – defenders Andrew Stone (Green Bay Preble) and Aaron Cranfill (New Berlin West) and midfielder Luke Goodnetter (Brookfield East) – Kelderman said his side could have as many as six or seven new starters next fall. For now, one area of focus is finishing: UWM led the Horizon League in shots last fall (16.61 per game), but ranked fourth in goals (1.28). "In the spring, the results aren't the important thing," Kelderman said. "In the fall, we focus on team development. In the spring, at least I focus on individual development. So it's an opportunity for some guys to get a little bit better, through some more playing time or some experience in some different roles, that's really what we're after."

Wisconsin

Coach: John Trask, third season at UW (20-29-10) and eighth overall (74-53-36).

2012 recap: 6-8-5, 1-3-2 Big Ten Conference (sixth). Lost to Michigan 1-0 in Big Ten tournament quarterfinal.

Spring schedule: March 15 – Wisconsin 2, UW-Green Bay 0; April 6 – at Western Illinois, 2 p.m.; April 13 – Wisconsin Division I Spring Cup at Valley Fields, Milwaukee, vs. UW-Milwaukee, 9:30 a.m.; championship or third place, 1:30 p.m.; April 21 – Northern Illinois, 2 p.m. at University Bay Practice Field; April 27 – at Illinois-Chicago, 7 p.m.; May 3 – Alumni game, time TBA at University Bay Practice Field.

In focus: Trask wasn't with the Badgers much last spring, as he was an assistant with the U.S. Under-23 team in Olympic qualifying, and he felt his absence impacted the team in the fall. "I apologized to the guys at the end of the fall, that a lot of hard work that goes into the fall season happens in the spring," he said. "I said, 'I got called by our country and I just felt like you don't turn something like that down when the Federation asks you.' But it was tough. ... In the season, you can work on certain elements, but really the season comes so hard and so fast it's keeping the guys healthy, game preparation. You're not able to really get into them about technical things and spend the amount of time you'd like to." This spring, Trask has extended training sessions and cut back in the weight room. "It's been a very productive spring," he said. "I thought possession-wise, some of the things we were doing out of the back and the quality was way better, and it's because we're getting a lot more reptition in with these guys. We'll spend 30 minutes just working on, not patterns of play, but just technically being proficient of certain pieces of the game, from crossing to the first pass out of the back to the midfielders' shape, and I think it's starting to pay dividends. We've touched the ball a lot this spring." While junior midfielders Nick Janus, Trevor Wheeler and Joey Tennyson (Menomonee Falls) are sidelined by injuries, they're all expected back by May 1, and standout Tomislav Zadro is back after missing last season with a torn ACL. "He reminds me of the way Baggio (Husidic) used to be for me at UIC. He takes a lot of pressure off of other players," Trask said of Zadro, who led UW with eight goals and six assists as a junior in 2011 after transferring from Illinois Central. "Zadro is bigger, he's stronger, he's better, he's more fit. It's going to help us next year getting him back and having him another year when all these guys are seniors, but it made for a tough year in the fall on the guys."